I always enjoyed not knowing what song was coming next and trying to guess what it is as soon as I can. Definitely harder to experience that now but since he's started at least changing the set a little on each leg of the tour there's usually a few songs that I'm not expecting. I don't check the setlist on a tour I know I'm going to see him on.

I'd like a little more variety - but my wallet is fine with the lack of it.

Beacon shows in 2005 were a different beast than 2017. There was a lack of repetition of songs from 4/28 to 4/29. This time, the song variety wasn't as high. We do have a slightly longer set (by song count). It's hard to justify paying for very similar shows. That said, I still like to catch him once the set has changed up enough.

I'd like a little more variety - but my wallet is fine with the lack of it.

Beacon shows in 2005 were a different beast than 2017. There was a lack of repetition of songs from 4/28 to 4/29. This time, the song variety wasn't as high. We do have a slightly longer set (by song count). It's hard to justify paying for very similar shows. That said, I still like to catch him once the set has changed up enough.

Hope you pulled the cobwebs outta that purse and at least went to ONE show.You really couldn’t go wrong this time around.

Joined: Wed August 23rd, 2017, 18:34 GMTPosts: 322Location: I followed you beneath the stars

I'm just wondering WHY he's stopped mixing up the setlists... don't think he'd give us an actual answer if asked (y'know, one that makes sense to ordinary human beings), though.Can anyone tell me WHEN he settled for the (more or less) consistent setlist we have now?

Can anyone tell me WHEN he settled for the (more or less) consistent setlist we have now?

The static setlist appeared at the first show of 2013: Buffalo, NY, 2013-04-05. On that tour he switched between Thunder on the Mountain and Summer Days between shows, but the bulk of the setlist was static. We started to see less variety in the song pool starting in 2006. Between 2000-2005 he played anywhere between 101-125 different songs a year. In 2006 he played 79 different songs. There was a brief increase in the amount of different songs in 2009, with 99 different songs played, but the other years between 2006-2012 have between 64 and 86 different songs played.

Obviously now the song pool is a lot smaller. I really enjoyed the show I caught in Nottingham earlier this year. It felt more like a special event because it was the only one I went to, and because of the static setlist I didn't get the fear of missing out that I used to get on tours where he played more varied setlists. Yes, I missed the excitement of not know what was coming next and I wish he'd switch things up a bit, but on the other hand the static setlist years have seen some fantastic performances that have since been left behind. For example, who could imagine we'd hear a gem like What Good Am I? every night in fall 2013?

I'd like to see a few more gems being dropped in. One wild card slot per static setlist show would make me very happy. That performance of Learning To Fly at Broomfield the other week was the most excited I've been about a Dylan setlist since he sang The Weight in 2013.

Can anyone tell me WHEN he settled for the (more or less) consistent setlist we have now?

Although SetLists had already begun to staticize a few years prior to Duke, it was really in that 2013 Spring Tour when finally the bottom fell out regarding surprises.

Each Tour Leg since then had it's own little shakeout period with some early (minor) song changes and perhaps a unique one-off like with the McCrarys or Free Bird or something. Even had some Intermissions for a short period. Maybe even a Rome or a Desert Storm or a "Festival" list...But each Leg became pretty tried & true once it got underway over the past 5 years.

On paper, or digitally, it's tough to take, and multiple strings of shows in a row can get boring, too, for some of us.Personally, I gave up the show-after-show-after-show recipe sometime around the Circus Organ Period, (as U.P. calls it).

But a show or three per Leg seems like a good pull-back formula these days, especially now that the American Standards are beginning to filter out.

EDIT: and I agree with Midnight Wowboy's good comments, which I just now saw.

Hope you pulled the cobwebs outta that purse and at least went to ONE show.You really couldn’t go wrong this time around.

I did pull the cobwebs out and go to a show this year, going to Dylan at the Anthem in DC. I thought about a Beacon show, but decided not to. I first saw Dylan at the Beacon in 2005. I'm not even too much of a hater of the American standards. I went with some first time concert goers this year and they actually liked the standards.

I prioritized on other acts this year. If I went to more Dylan shows, I wouldn't have been able to go see Springsteen on Broadway, U2, Roger Waters, and a fair amount of other groups.

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